15 Google Interview Questions That Will Make You Feel Stupid

Google is back to hiring again. That's good news for thousands of junior managers and software developers out there hoping to find safe harbor during this recessionary storm.

The bad news:

Google prefers Ivy Leaguers.

It cares about your GPA, even if you're in your 30s.

It wants people who want to change the world.

Worse yet, even if you meet all those requirements, you still have to go in for your Google interview. Seattle job coach Lewis Lin put together a list of 140 questions his clients have been asked by Google.

We've added a link to the whole list at the end.

1/

How many golf balls can fit in a school bus?

Job: Product Manager

2/

How much should you charge to wash all the windows in Seattle?

Job: Product Manager

3/

In a country in which people only want boys …

… every family continues to have children until they have a boy. If they have a girl, they have another child. If they have a boy, they stop. What is the proportion of boys to girls in the country?

Why are manhole covers round?

Design an evacuation plan for San Francisco

How many times a day does a clock’s hands overlap?

Explain the significance of "dead beef"

Job: Software Engineer

9/

A man pushed his car to a hotel and lost his fortune. What happened?

Job: Software Engineer

10/

You need to check that your friend Bob has your correct phone number …

… but you cannot ask him directly. You must write the question on a card which and give it to Eve who will take the card to Bob and return the answer to you. What must you write on the card, besides the question, to ensure Bob can encode the message so that Eve cannot read your phone number?

Job: Software Engineer

11/

You're the captain of a pirate ship …

… and your crew gets to vote on how the gold is divided up. If fewer than half of the pirates agree with you, you die. How do you recommend apportioning the gold in such a way that you get a good share of the booty, but still survive?

Job: Engineering Manager

12/

You have eight balls all of the same size …

… 7 of them weigh the same, and one of them weighs slightly more. How can you find the ball that is heavier by using a balance and only two weighings?

Job: Product Manager

13/

You are given 2 eggs …

… you have access to a 100-story building. Eggs can be very hard or very fragile means it may break if dropped from the first floor or may not even break if dropped from 100th floor. Both eggs are identical. You need to figure out the highest floor of a 100-story building an egg can be dropped without breaking. The question is how many drops you need to make. You are allowed to break 2 eggs in the process.

Job: Product Manager

14/

Explain a database in three sentences to your 8-year-old nephew.

Job: Product Manager

15/

You are shrunk to the height of a nickel …

… and your mass is proportionally reduced so as to maintain your original density. You are then thrown into an empty glass blender. The blades will start moving in 60 seconds. What do you do?